What a joy it is to be back at Liverpool Theatre Festival once again, in the beautiful surroundings of St Luke’s Bombed Out Church. Having reviewed a number of shows in this festival, it was a pleasure to return tonight to see further variety unfold in the form of pure humour from “The Laughterhouse Comedy Club”. Laughterhouse are the longest running comedy club in Liverpool having showcased thousands of sell-out shows for well over a decade. They pride themselves on understanding what makes the best comedy nights, taking their venues, acts and overall atmosphere into great consideration.
The show was hosted by laughterhouse’s resident MC Chris Cairns who is no stranger to both the local and international stage. Chris’s charming welcomes and witty introductions warm the audience up nicely for a night of laughter and fun.
For the 8.30pm show, the first act was funny man Andy Askins who has an air of simplicity but absolute genius about his act. Andy comes to the stage equipped with his guitar which he humorously explains is just a fashion accessory. Andy is a very talented comedian as he has the audience in stitches from the get-go without needing any elaborate staging or movement. Andy tends to stand still behind the microphone, he uses minimal facial expressions and gestures which only demonstrates the quality of his material and delivery as the entertainment value is sky high!
The second act of the evening was Gary Delaney who is a completely different comedian as he shares amusing one-liners time and time again. I couldn’t begin to count how many jokes he shared but every one of them had a different level of hilarity and of course, filth! Gary shared that he was testing the water with the audience in terms of the level of crudeness he can get away with and as the night progressed, it appears there were no limits! Gary doesn’t hold back with jokes that are close to the bone which doesn’t seem to matter for this Liverpool audience whose hearty laughs echoed around the iconic venue.
The final act of the evening was comedy duo known as Raymond and Mr Timpkins who cleverly take diversity to a whole new level. This double act incorporates props, music, costumes and lots of physicality to create one of the most unique and amusing pieces of comedy I’ve ever seen! The act is so well written and demands a high level of organisation, precision and timing which these two had in abundance. The pace is so quick and the gags so funny that the audience cannot take their eyes away from the stage for even a second. These two messers produce a ‘must see’ performance that you won’t forget!
Overall, Liverpool Laugherhouse delivered a brilliantly enjoyable night that had everyone laughing throughout and on the way home. Kudos to Liverpool Theatre Festival for being inclusive of all arts and for including such wonderful shows like Laughterhouse Comedy into your programme.
Reviewer: Blathine Maguire
Reviewed: 11th September 2021
North West End UK Rating: ★★★★★